Your favorite lavender?

One of the truly classic (and somewhat divisive) notes in perfumery, lavender is found in lots of styles, ranging from traditional European fougères over classic "English-style" gentlemen's colognes to contemporary spicy oriental versions and even recent "stylized" minimalist and deconstructed experiments.
In all its many versions and interpretations, lavender remains one of my favorite notes, and I'm very curious which lavender frags you prefer - which one is simply better than the others? My own vote is split between spicy sensual Eau Noire and uncompromising lavender-civet masterpiece Jicky. Which one is your favorite - maybe I didn't even list it?

Re: Your favorite lavender?

+1 Yohji Homme, which I finally succumbed to over Christmas..

Being a licorice lover, did someone forget to mention Hermes Brin de Reglisse?

On Sillage:

If someone can smell me at more than an arm's length away, I'm probably wearing too much of whatever I applied; if she can distinctly make out the top notes, then perhaps I left the house a bit too soon..

On icebreaker:

I tend to compliment people on their frags to make short talks rather than anything more meaningful.

Re: Your favorite lavender?

I like Caldey Island Lavender very much, and often spray it on before bed. It's not really something I wear out. Lavender is very calming for me, and it's one of those scents I prefer mostly on it's own. I think it shines best directly from a freshly pinched sprig, where its resinous and floral qualities can be best appreciated in tandem. I find in many compositions the lavender note is overwhelmed by other notes and loses its identity. In Caron's Pour un Homme, the vanilla just nicely warms and relaxes the lavender, allowing it space to breathe. I do like the dry astringent quality it brings to fougeres such as Rive Gauche PH, Pascal Morabito Or Black, and Azzaro, to name three where lavender works well. L'Occitan is just a bit too barbershop soapy for my taste. I do like Brin de Reglisse which delightfully reveals the resinous intersection of licorice and lavender. Strange to be thinking about lavender in the middle of winter.

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Looking back at the survey, there is a dearth of straight-up fougeres. I would have put a few in such as: Fougere Royale, English Fern, Gucci Nobile, Sartorial, Rive Gauche.

The Caron is ahead of Jicky? Really? C'mon people! The Caron is well executed, solid ... dependable. In France I suppose it's what the average man that wants to smell like lavender smells like. It's about as complex and rare as dirt though. Jicky is effin' magic. It's a voodoo witch doctors spell woven by Aimé Guerlain a hundred twenty some odd years ago. It has just as much juju as it ever did. It's a force of nature.

Basenotes - you've disappointed me. But it's not too late to make amends. Vote Jicky.

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Caron PH has a fantastic lavender opening that makes the note clearly discenible, I've not experienced anything like it.

- - - Updated - - -

Originally Posted by rubegon

Looking back at the survey, there is a dearth of straight-up fougeres. I would have put a few in such as: Fougere Royale, English Fern, Gucci Nobile, Sartorial, Rive Gauche.

The Caron is ahead of Jicky? Really? C'mon people! The Caron is well executed, solid ... dependable. In France I suppose it's what the average man that wants to smell like lavender smells like. It's about as complex and rare as dirt though. Jicky is effin' magic. It's a voodoo witch doctors spell woven by Aimé Guerlain a hundred twenty some odd years ago. It has just as much juju as it ever did. It's a force of nature.

Basenotes - you've disappointed me. But it's not too late to make amends. Vote Jicky.

While Jicky is amazing, I really don't find the lavender to be a prominent note hence my vote went to Caron. I will have to try Jicky again while keeping lavender in mind. The Caron struck me immediately and made the note very clear to my nose, I knew instantly that I was smelling lavender. After a while it fades into something that is sweet and a touch tobacco-y. I need to spend more time with Jicky though.

Eau Noire is an interesting one. The immortelle is a bit overpowering, but the Dior flagship here has a nice stand with examples of the individual ingredients used in the line. They are great and the Jasmin is superb - I could happily wear it as is. After smelling it 'solo' and then sniffing Eau Noire it just leaps out at you - enough that I might grab a bottle at some point.

High hopes for L'Heure Vertueuse - really looking forward to trying this one soon.

Re: Your favorite lavender?

One moment ... yeargh!!! ... while I extract this rapier from my chest.

Mike & MR - I regret swapping my Eau Noire now, but I think of it more as an immortelle soliflor with some supporting notes as modifiers. The last time I smelled it I was pretty clueless, though.

Chopwet - Jicky just smelled like Jicky when I first smelled it. After a while I realized that Jickyness is mostly lavender with vanilla, civet and maybe tonka? It's lavender softened and made "human". Funny that the BN FD doesn't list lavender among the notes.

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Looking back at the survey, there is a dearth of straight-up fougeres. I would have put a few in such as: Fougere Royale, English Fern, Gucci Nobile, Sartorial, Rive Gauche.

Good suggestions, thank you. And thank you for your comment. Yes, I could have included those and left others out - as always, I tried my best picking the scents for the survey and I always make sure to put in an "others" option so that people can still vote even if their preferred scents are not in the line-up which is not and can never be an exhaustive list. It is based on my very subjective and limited impression of what lavender scents are most popular or considered most interesting around here at the moment. For the same reason, I'm very happy and thankful for all the extra suggestions you and others have provided.

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Thank you all for your votes and comments. It seems we have two clear favorites here, classics Pour un Homme and Jicky fighting it out between them with the Caron leading narrowly. And then two much more recent releases, Gris Clair... and A Taste of Heaven vying closely for 3rd place. At the other end of the scale, Eau Noire makes a surprisingly poor performance with only two votes at the moment (one of which, as you know, is mine! ).
It's been both interesting and entertaining to follow the voting and the comments and I want to thank all of you for participating. And Please feel free to go on voting - the poll stays open!

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Have I told you about the scent of jasmine? Have I spoken about the smell of the sea? The earth is scented. And I perfume myself to enhance what I am. That's why I can not wear a perfume that bothers me. Perfuming is an instinctive wisdom. And like all art, it requires some knowledge of yourself..."
Clarice Lispector ( 1920-1977) - Perfumes da Terra / Earth Perfumes

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Summerbee Products Lavender Cologne (not in the Basenotes database), which I absolutely love. It's very basic, just lavender with some vetiver to fix it, but it smells great. I often spray some on my pillow before I go to bed. Very inexpensive too.

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Originally Posted by Kielecki

for me from your list:
Hermès - Brin de Réglisse
Very unique

+1 here
Your list had the ones I love: Caron, Creed, Guerlain's Jicky! So many beauties, Jersey is unique too, btw. Yet, even if Occitane has great flat compositions with lavender, BdR is a non-linear, elegant, almost minimalistic interpretation IMHO.
Great thread!

Re: Your favorite lavender?

Voted for Antonio Puig, Agua Lavanda. Love that stuff! Such a casual yet quality take on the genre. However, Prada's brand new Luna Rossa is also great and the bottle I bought late last month is fast becoming my signature scent. I'd call this one more of a "suit and tie" lavender. Very in keeping with the style of the Prada Ambers.

About a year ago I tried a tester of Royal Scottish Lavender at NM Orlando. Liked it so much that I bought a bottle on the spot. They had to ship it to me as only the giant flacon was in stock. Unfortunately, what I received smelled so different from the tester that I ultimately returned it.